1. Field
The following description relates to three-dimensional (3D) computer graphics technology.
2. Description of Related Art
Three-dimensional (3D) rendering belongs to a field of computer graphics that renders a 3D model. 3D rendering is used for various applications, such as, for example, 3D game, virtual reality, animation, and movie. The 3D rendering may include rendering such as, for example, ray tracing rendering to render a 3D model by tracing a path through which light emitted from a light source is reflected from a surface of an object, radiosity rendering based on an indirect illumination effect, in addition to a direct illuminating effect, through reflection or diffused reflection of a direct illumination by an object, and rasterization rendering to render a 3D model by transforming vector data to a pixel pattern image.
3D rendering may generate a shadow and apply the shadow to a rendered image to provide a higher sense of reality. Here, the shadow refers to a dark area generated when light radiated from a virtual light source is hidden by an object, and may provide a sense of reality and a spatial impression to the rendered image. A shadow calculation used to determine such a shadow may be performed on all image frames and all pixels.